My husband and I took our first trip together to Disney World in 1998 for my 34th birthday. We returned in 2000 and again in 2001 with different members of our family (brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews and our parents.) When planning the 2001 trip I wanted to try a character breakfast that I thought would be fun for the kids (ages 10, 7 and 2) and chose Donald’s Breakfastasauraus at the Animal Kindgdom.
This trip we were a party of 10. I thought the kids would love it but they were all kinda shy, so we thought it was going to be a dud. But then the best part of the breakfast happened and I got a kiss from Donald and a card signed by Pluto, Donald, Goofy and Mickey! (Sorry no picture as it’s predigital.) Sadly this is no longer a character breakfast but a quick service restaurant.
We had 4 more trips after that where we did not do any more character meals. In 2008, I had a conference to attend at the Contemporary and my mom and dad came with us. Because of the ease of getting to Chef Mickey’s, it was a no brainer to grab a reservation for breakfast.
We had hemmed and hawed about going, especially because there was construction going on at the time and everyone over on the DIS boards was saying it was noisy. So glad we decided to go, it was really fun and we had great character interaction and got some really cute photos. Food was really good as well and there was no construction going on as it was Sunday!
We went back to Disney World three more times without scheduling a character meal. No real reason, we just had other restaurants we wanted to try (or return to.) When we started planning our 2019 trip, I knew it was going to be different.
See, we joined DVC in 2004, and have been fortunate enough to be able to bring our family and friends along with us. In 2013 we brought our very close friends, Doc and Lucia. Lucia had never been to Disney World, but as a girl originally from Brazil, she had always wanted to go. We were unable to secure a meal at the Castle, but she said she was fine with just meeting the characters.
Fast forward to 2019 and they are once again traveling with us, and we opened up the invitation to Lucia’s 92 year old mother, Cecy. Cecy (who by the way doesn’t speak a speck of English) was all about meeting the characters and also REALLY wanted to dine with the princesses at the castle. But getting a reservsation for 5 was proving difficult. I figured the guys wouldn’t really mind not going and was able to secure a table for 3 for the girls for lunch, and got a reservation for the guys over at Kona Cafe.
We all spent that morning at Magic Kingdom and I was secretly excited about the experience and meeting Cinderella and getting inside of the castle which I had never done. Check in was a breeze and the line to meet Cinderella took about 15 minutes.
We took the elevator up to the dining area and I was so happy with our seat just one table away from the window overlooking the carousel! I actually got a little teary eyed. Our server was fabulous and we took a little time looking over the menu and deciding on our meal. All three of us ended up chosing the same starter and main course. We were probably the only table without any children, but we were treated as sweetly as anyone else. While waiting for our meals, along came the princesses.
We all started with the soup of the day, which was a roasted butternut squash which was delicious. Then we all went with the salmon, which while I thought an odd choice of a fish selection for a theme park, was absolutely outstanding.
Both Lucia and I got the carrot cake, which was scrumptious but the overabundance of frosting was a little too sweet. But the presentation was lovely and the added birthday cupcake was a nice touch. Cecy got some sort of sorbet which she enjoyed as well.
After we ate, we all said bibbidi bobbidi boo and the lights sparkeled and everyone clapped and waved their wands or swords and then it was all done. Its nice when you prepay for the meal as the tip is included. We were all very glad we got to experience this and we wouldn’t hesitate to return.
One last character meal for this trip. Because we were staying at the Beach Club Villas, we also got reservations for breakfast at Cape May Cafe. Great character interaction and great buffet offerings. We all had mimosas or bloody Mary’s and lots and lots of crispy bacon.
Our server was very attentive and the characters and the coffee just kept on coming. We all had a great meal and a great time.
So, there you go, character dining isn’t just for kids! Go ahead, try it for yourself, you just might feel like a kid again!
Kathy's Korner 